


A Bexxelnack 5 Tale

by Sometimes_Writer



Series: Bexxelnack 5 [1]
Category: Bexxelnack 5, Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Aliens, Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Captain Novus, Gen, Lasers, Maybe - Freeform, Sword Fighting, bexxelnack 5 - Freeform, space, space worms, the end of everything, who knows what else
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:08:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 11,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28145883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sometimes_Writer/pseuds/Sometimes_Writer
Summary: The adventures of a hapless pilot and his thrown together crew. The end of the universe hangs in the balance, and forge help us all, Novus is in charge.
Series: Bexxelnack 5 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2061891





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still very new to this whole site, so I am not familiar with the tags and what not. Chapters will probably be changed, and titles may or may not be added.

"Daddy! Daddy! Tell us a story!"

"Can't you see I'm working, girls? I'll tell you a story for bedtime. Go play outside, it's a beautiful day, and I would be outside if I could!"

"But Daddy you're always working! Can't you just tell us a short story? Please please please?"

"Alright, how about a story about how I met your mother?"

"No! That's boring! We want space pirates! And evil bad guys!"

"And we want crazy animals! With big fangs!"

"But girls, this story has all that! And not only those things, but sword fights and gun play, intrigue and exploding stars!"

"I guess, as long as lots of stars explode."

"Trust me dears, lots of everything explodes.

* * *

"The day was a normal one, wake up in my bunk, check the nav system, get a cup of caf, the usual.

"But that's where things went wrong...

"Jones! Where's the caf machine?"

"Well sir, I.. uh.. I dunno. It was there half an hour ago."

Venturing forth to the cockpit I float next to Jones. And stare at him. He stares back, shrugs, then gets back to plotting our newest course.

"Well, when did you last see it Jones? You know I need that caf."

Without taking his eyes from the nav screen he replies, the same as before, "I haven't seen it sir, not since I got a fresh cup about thirty minutes ago."

"Well, we're almost to port anyway. I'll survive the day without it, hopefully."

"As you see girls, not the best start to a day. But, I digress. We made it to port without any incident. Except a splitting headache, that is. The next day, in the station, went much better. At least to start."

"Ah. A fresh cup of caf, straight from the machine. Just the way I like it."

So, with the fresh cup, I left my berth. That's when the day started to get weird. A young lad came barreling down the hall, ran into me, bounced off the wall, and then landed flat on his butt on the ground.

"Captain! Sir, the stationmaster is looking for you! He says it's urgent!"

"I guess so, what with you barreling around like that. He say what he needs? Or just send you to crash into me?"

"He just said get there quick sir, quick as you can. Real important he said."


	2. Chapter 2

So, with my miraculously un-spilled cup-a-caf I rushed to the stationmaster's office. **  
**

"Captain Novus, a pleasure to finally meet you in person. But unfortunately we don't have time for pleasantries. I have a rush cargo I need you to take. Your ship, just you. No one else can be trusted with this."

“Well I'll need a nav man, at the very least."

"No. I can supply a computer for those things, but you can't bring anyone, or tell anyone about this. Top secret you understand."

So now I'm intrigued, I couldn’t turn this down! What sort of cargo could this be? A weapon, a new AI, jump drive tech? So of course I said yes.

* * *

The stationmaster met me at the docks, after I packed my scant belongings, with my cargo. Except I didn't see any boxes. Instead a woman was standing near the stationmaster. She was tall, a belter lady, with long limbs and fingers. Even being about 6 feet tall, she didn't look stretched, an accomplishment for a low-grav, she must have been important to be getting enough to eat on a rock barely large enough to hold down a family.

"So. Where's this 'cargo' I'm supposed to haul. And where is it going?"

"She is-"

"I am this 'cargo', and I'll tell you when I deem it fit to tell you."

"Well I need to tell the dock something, can't just run off unplanned. Gets ya killed doing that."

"I've taken care of it. I suggest we leave soon, I do not like these docks."

So with that we left the stationmaster, quite flustered, and boarded my ship. She went straight for my room, to which I objected, "Nope, that's where I sleep. You can have the room just down the hall. It's a bit smaller, but no less nice for it."

Her only objection was a cold stare, then she turned to enter the room I had pointed out.

"If you don't mind telling me where we're going soon, we can set off."

"I'll tell you when I feel it is time, for now just leave this port and head towards the outer rim."

So, without much ado, I went to the cockpit and plugged in our heading and leave request. It was granted almost immediately, and we were off.


	3. Chapter 3

“The great expanse, also called: space, the void, the black, way out, and the cosmos, has lots of stars. The one our hero, me, is in is called Bexxelnack. Bexxelnack 5, actually. The first four were destroyed through various means, including two black holes, a space worm, and colliding with another star. But those are not the stories I’m telling right now, so back to how I met your mom.”

* * *

We left the port, headed outwards as instructed. The start of our adventure, like so many others, was uneventful. No explosions yet, and not even a small space worm to contend with. Theta-Noventa-ThirtySix was shining, and the diamond covered expanse was bright, so I figured a peaceful journey. I was mostly right, but we’ll get to that. The sky was twinkling, the nav panel was bright, the fuel tanks were full, and I was on a mission. Things had started well. Until my ‘cargo’ walked into the cockpit.

“Well, have you plotted us out yet?”  
“I would love to, but you still haven’t told me where I’m taking you.”

“And I won’t until we get closer, what I meant was are we heading south yet?”

“We are, and if you’ll leave the cabin I can concentrate while we head through this traffic area.”

She humphed, spun a heel, and stomped out of the cabin. Once the door closed behind her I let out a sigh, and continued to stargaze. There wasn’t any traffic, at least none to worry about, and I was able to relax. I threw in a couple of turns, and a few pitch changes to keep things interesting though.

Once lunch rolled around I went to the mess, ordered the usual cup of caf and a ham sandwich, and started to get caught up on the news I missed that morning. As if on cue, in she walked.

“What is that? Where can I get some food?”

“This is food, and you can tell the machine there on the wall what you want.”

“You expect me to eat that? I won’t eat that machine’s food. It’s hideous.”  
“You can eat or not, but that’s where the food comes from. I don’t have the cargo space or the budget for real food, and even if I did it would be frozen and not taste any better. So if you’re going to eat, I would suggest getting used to that machine. If you need a quick lesson I’m happy to show you how not to break it.”

“I’ll manage.”

With that, the conversation ended momentarily. Some scientist was claiming that SpaceRats were innocent, which was clearly bogus, and about halfway through the article I was interrupted again. By a loud thunking, cursing, and then a thump as my passenger sat down.

“Everything ok over there?” I ask, not bothering to look up.

“Only your stupid ship not making anything worth looking at, much less eating. How long will it be until we get there?”

“About as long as it takes for you to tell me where we are going.”

“Fine, as long as we can get to the outer belt as quickly as possible.”  
“The faster we get there, the happier I’ll be,” I say, as I look up at her over my paper.

I’m greeted by a mess, the food machine is jammed, and my passenger is flopped onto a bench, sprawled along a length too short for her. So, I get up, unjam the machine, and restart the process. She had tried to order a salad and a fish, but the machine gummed up on the salad dressing. Once I got it fixed I passed the new, finished meal over, and headed to my room to get ready for the first jump.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit short, sorry about that. They all are up until 10, because they are coming from Tumblr. I am more short form on there, but once I get past 10 they should be a bit longer...

“Hello, this is your captain speaking. Our first jump will be in 20 minutes, I suggest you get bunked down, and doped up. For our first time users, I suggest keeping a bag at hand for any food unsatisfied with your stomach. Please hesitate before you ask for help, I’m very busy and don’t have a copilot.”

After this announcement, I wandered back to make sure my guest was properly secured. She was, and told me so, with a curt “I’ve done this before.”

So the jump was under way, and we were off, at some significant, possibly greater-than-one, fraction the speed of light. I’m not a scientist. But I do know that jumping makes me nauseous, and so I went to my bunk and passed out for the seven hours we were at high speed. As per usual, I had odd dreams in jump, but these were weirder than most. A feeling of falling, not unusual in space, augmented with jolts of electricity. A voice echoed through the void, words that I couldn’t understand, sounds that I couldn’t fully hear.

After the jump it was business as usual. My passenger had no problems with jumping, and so I was able to continue plotting a course, making it more exact towards the point at the end of the galaxy. She joined me in the cockpit, sat down in the nav chair, and stared out into space. After a bit, she handed me a piece of paper, with a series of coordinates on it, along with a star’s name.

“That’s where we’re going. If you transmit those coordinates I will kill you. Put them in, and I will take that paper back. It will be destroyed.”

“I don’t want any trouble, just to deliver and get paid,” so I put the numbers in, and handed back the sheet, savoring the feel of real paper. She took it back, ripped it into a few pieces, and stuffed it into her pocket.

The computer said the asteroids were a binary pair, no ports, nothing but a pair of dancers spiraling through space around a very dim Bexxelnack 5. I didn’t say anything, didn’t want to get in trouble for peeking, but decided to look into it more later.

“Hey, what’s your name? I can’t keep calling you my ‘cargo’ can I?”  
“You can call me Cas, it’s not my name, but it’ll do.” With that, she walked out.


	5. Chapter 5

Right as the door closed, it tore back open, when Cas heard the alarms going off. **  
**

“What in Forge? What is that?”  
“That, Car- Cas, is the proximity alarm. It could mean pirates, space worms, or maybe just an asteroid. I suggest either buckling in here, or going back to your room.”  
“I know how to aim a ship’s laser, I’ll stay here.”

So, I turned towards where the alarm was triggered, and saw nothing.

“Huh, nothing out there. Guess you didn’t need to strap in-”  
When I was interrupted by a jolt, and then more proximity alarms. Space worms had latched onto the ship, which was why we couldn’t rotate to them.

“I’ll have to get out and zap ‘em off. You stay here and make sure the ship doesn’t drift into a planet.”

“This is where the first pointy tooth beast shows up, girls, and the first sword fight.”  
“Finally! How many teeth does a space worm have Daddy?”

“Thousands, and they rotate, to better cut through ship hulls, but back to the story.”

So I suited up, and went onto the side of the ship. Activating the mag boots, I stepped onto the side of the ship, and re-oriented my perspective so that the ship was down. I saw the worm pretty quick, them being like five yards long, and pulled out the shock blaster. Handy things, the shock blasters, shoots out a burst of electricity, doesn’t poke holes in hulls. And handy for getting space worms off the ship.

So I walked to the worm, took aim, and shot the worm. It took a few shots, this was a big worm, and then went to toss the worm into space before it grabbed back onto the ship. As I approached the worm, I saw two more on the back of the ship, and a third drifting in. I shot the third one, and it careened off to the side. The other two were too close to the engines for me to shoot them, and I hadn’t grabbed the prod to poke them off. So I radioed in to Cas,

“Hey, could you grab me the shock prod? It’s in the cabinet near the airlock, on the middle shelf. You can strap it into the airlock and I’ll grab it in a few minutes.”  
I got a terse affirmative, and walked the long way around the side of the ship to look for any more space worms. There weren’t any, and I made it around to the airlock without any more problems. Peeking through the window to make sure the prod was secure, I cycled the airlock, and opened the door to grab it. With my new weapon, essentially a big stick with a 9-volt on the end, I returned to the back end of the ship. The two space worms had been joined by a third, right in the middle of the three engine bells, out of reach of the prod. The first two hadn’t moved, so I was able to zap them, and then push them away with the end of the stick.

“I knew I should have gotten the telescoping rod,” I muttered to myself. I couldn’t figure out any easy way to move the space worm, so I went on another lap of the ship to think, and check for more worms. 

As I rounded the edge of the ship a massive worm launched itself at me from the void. I barely dodged it’s strike, and held up the rod to fend it off. Worms don’t usually go for people, but some of the bigger ones will if they feel like it. This is where my sword skills come in handy. I started swinging wildly, my skills evident in the haphazard flailing I affected to scare it off. The worm bounced off the hull, then threw itself at me once more. I managed to stab it in the side, but it pulled the shock prod out of my hand as it spun away from the ship. At least this worm wasn’t albino.

So now I had to deal with the last worm without my prod. Great. Maybe if I shot the worm, then threw a wrench at it to push it away. I’d need a new wrench, but it would give me an excuse to get the adjustable one anyway. That’s what I planned anyway, when I got there the worm was gone, replaced with a hole in the rear.

“Stars. Cas, one of the worms bored through. It’ll be in the engine room, there’s a shock gun in the cabinet outside my door. Code is 6412. I’ll be there in a few, but if you can stun the thing that would be a good start.”

All I got in return was a curt “Sure” as I started back to the airlock.


	6. Chapter 6

That was about as far as I got, because a pirate jumped out of the void, stopping just out of turret range. So, of course, I had to speed up the cycling and waste some air to dive into the ship. That was when Cas radioed through. **  
**

“The proximity alarms are going off again, I think it’s another ship. Also, that worm is sparking, I think it’s a mech.”

I ditched the helmet, but didn’t bother to take off my suit, as I rushed to the cockpit. My ship could take on a pirate, but not with only me piloting it. I prepared for an emergency jump, while Cas ran back to the front.

“Those are pirates out there. Sometimes they use the worms to distract ships. I’ve got nothing of real value here, except you, so I would like, at some point, to know who you are and what you’ve got. For now I would grab something strapped in and hold on tight.”

The emergency jump was ready, so I hit the confirm button, and off we went. As we jumped I went back to check on the fake worm, and Cas watching it. Fortunately the ship recognized the hole and shielded the air from getting out, so Cas didn’t suffocate while I went to check on her. When I got there she was still watching the mech warily, but hadn’t left the room.

“So,” I said, “What’s the deal with the pirates?”

“I can’t tell you much, just the most basic story about who I am and what I’m here for. I’m the daughter of a prominent scientist, and I need to help with an experiment in the Rim. I’ve special knowledge about what they’re studying, and they wanted another perspective. Now, what are we going to do about this worm thing?”

“Hopefully disable it, send it off into space, and then get going.”

By this point the ship had finished its jump, and settled back into the autopilot I’d set, so the stars were very pretty through the gaping hole in the back of my ship. Advancing towards the mech, I noticed it was still sparking, so I poked it with the wrench I had on my hip belt. It jumped, sparked more, then settled, unmoving on the floor. All that was left was to disable it, and any tracking gear it might have had.

“Ow! The star damned thing hit me!” Cas yelled as a bolt of lightning struck her dead in the chest.

“Oops, guess I didn’t quite get it all.” But by that time Cas had left the room, twitching slightly, off to her room, presumably. 

So I got back to work on the mech, but without much experience in this kind of tech I couldn’t get very far. I smacked it again, then sent it out the airlock. Repairing the ship was easy, this wasn’t the worst hole I’d had, not even big enough to walk through, just enough to dive through.

I didn’t see Cas for the rest of the day, or any of the next, but I didn’t think too much about it. An emergency jump and a good shock will do that to a person. When I did see her we weren’t very far from her destination.

“Hey, we’ve almost made it to the location you gave me, where should I park?” 

“That’s a little space joke, girls. No one ever builds parking lots in space. Massive inconvenience for all us pilots.”

“Just get to the story, Dad.”

“Of course, sorry for the joke.”

“Just take me to the largest asteroid. It’s hard to miss, almost a planet.”

So I plotted the course, took us over, and then the asteroid exploded. Just kidding, it didn’t do anything. Not even a ping back when I sent it a signal, like it didn’t exist. But I kept towards it, and a ship peaked out from behind another rock. It did ping me, so I opened voice chat with it.

“This is science vessel Orathian, please respond”  
“Spaceship BungleHopper, responding.”  
“Are you carrying our cargo? We were told someone would be out with it.”  
At this they started moving closer, and I looked over at Cas to make sure this was the ship. She furrowed her brows, but nodded. I took this as my signal to stay where I was, and let the ship come to us.


	7. Chapter 7

Cas said to me quietly, “Prepare the jump, we were supposed to be meeting the Argentus. Don’t leave yet though, I want to hear their story.”

“This is the BungleHopper, I would like to check which cargo you want. I’ve got a few shipments here, and I seem to have mixed them up. Sorry about that.”  
It took them a moment, but “We are waiting for a consultant, she’s got knowledge we need.” crackled through the intercom.

“Ah. Of course, she’s right here. Say ‘Hi’ to each other.”

“Perfect, please open your airlock so she can transfer over, it’s quite urgent.”  
“Actually,” Cas interrupted, “I was wondering what happened to the Argentus, why aren’t they here to meet me.”  
“That’s a long story, we don’t have time now. Please hurry over so we can continue our work.”  
“I’d really feel better if I at least knew where she was. And I need to collect my notes anyway, so you’ve got time to explain.”

With this, the Orathian went silent, and drifted so close I could have poked them through the window in the cockpit, if it had a hole in it. Forge forbid. 

All of a sudden the Orathian slid away, and rotated the front of their ship to face mine. Neither of us could see the other, due to the ample sun shielding, but I got the drift. They wanted to open fire. 

“Hey Cas, remember when you said you could aim a laser? We might need that now.”

That’s all the warning we had, as the Orathian opened fire on us. The emergency banks hadn’t recovered from the last jump, not having sunlight to speed the process, so the basic jump would have to do. It would also have to spin up. While it did this, we would need to not explode, so I started evasive maneuvers while Cas started shooting. She didn’t hit, but neither did they, and the jump was almost done charging. Right as we started to jump they got a last volley off, and nicked a cooling port. We made about half the jump distance I wanted before we overheated, and had to stop.

“You just never stop causing problems, huh Cas.”

“That was not my fault. I had no idea they would be hostile so quickly!”

“Well, we need to sit here for a bit, while I try to repair the cooling port, and hopefully we cool off a bit, too.”

So, I suited back up, and went for the second space walk of the mission, and the day. The coolant tank isn’t bad. A bit beat up, but not anything I can’t fix. A spot of pliant sealant and it’ll be just like when I got it. Which isn’t really that much better, now that I think about it. My ship isn’t exactly new. The repair turns out to be relatively easy, only needing a few layers of sealer and some cursing.


	8. Chapter 8

“We need to figure out who those people were, piloting the Orathian. They weren’t who they were supposed to be.”

“Cas, I’ll be honest, I don’t want to know. They shot at us, and we got lucky. We might not next time. What if I just took you back, and we told whoever sent you down about this?”

“No. We can’t just leave. The Argentus might need our help and I need to find out what happened here. Aren’t you curious?”

“Not really, no. I would rather live and get another job than die here in the middle of nowhere space.”

“Well, that’s too bad Novus, I need you out here, and I need help. You are going to help me, or I am going to lock you in your room and take over the ship myself, I do know how to fly one.”

“Alright. I’ll help. But if my ship is in danger, I will jump. I don’t care what you threaten me with. I’ll jump, and I’ll lock the ship.”

So, with our alliance set, I plotted a course back to the south, at the edge of scanning range for the asteroid. The drive would take an hour or so to recharge, along with the emergency drive, so we had some time to kill. I decided to bring up some things with Cas.

“Cas, I need to know what I could be jumping into. I need to be prepared for what might be coming at me.”

“I can’t tell you. I don’t know what might be out there. All we can do is hope that they gave chase, overshot, and gave us some time to look around.”

So, with all the new intel I’ve got, I jump into the system. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, so I send out a tight beam at the asteroid, like before nothing comes back. We creep forward, slowly, with an eye out for danger. Nothing happens, at first. Then, more nothing, and we’re right next to the asteroid. That’s when the confusion starts, and we get pulled toward the space rock. True to form, and the scans I performed earlier, we went straight through the outer wall. The inside was hollow, and we got pulled towards a small ship in the middle.


	9. Chapter 9

“This is the -kkkcccchhh- we need help -kkkkcccchhhh- please send -kkkccccchhhh-” **  
**

“This is the BungleHopper, we are reading, barely. Please repeat the last message.”

“-kkkkcccchhhh- Argentus. Are you there? Please send med-kkkcchh-”

“Novus,” Cas whispers over, “That’s the Argentus, they seem to be in trouble.”

“Argentus, this is the BungleHopper, we’ll be right over.”

They continue to pull us in, and eventually I manage to dock with them. The sounds coming through the hull aren’t encouraging, except to encourage us to move quicker and get over to the other ship. The inside isn’t any better. It’s dark, illuminated by half-broken panels and sparking wires. As we get closer to the bridge it gets brighter, due to the occasional fires in the halls. We don’t stop to put them out. The bridge isn’t empty, and the captain is alive, if only just. It’s a relatively easy healing process, she’s only wildly dehydrated and insanely battered.

“She’ll pull through,” Cas mutters as she stands up, “But we need to figure out what happened here, and what we can do about it.”

“I agree, but let’s get her to my ship first, we can put her in a guest room for now. Better lighting and closer to the medkits that way.”  
“You do that, I need to check some things here anyway.”

Hoisting the captain into my arms I take her to an unoccupied room and put her down. She doesn’t stir, so I leave a glass of water and the medkit on the bedside table, and head back to the Argentus. It isn’t good, but at least the oxygen is staying in, for now. I find Cas in the lab, looking through the computer. 

“See anything interesting? I’m about to go check the main computer to see if I can figure out what happened here.”  
“Ok, I’ll let you know what I find here.”

The computer is encrypted, and I can’t be bothered to try to hack it, so I go back to see if the captain is awake yet. She is. I know this because she isn’t where I left her. So I check the galley, the storage, and the engines. Nothing. The only other place is the cockpit, but that door locks automatically when I leave the ship. So I check a few more hallways, and still don’t see her. The door to the cockpit is open, and I hear buttons beeping.

“Whatchya doing in here?” I ask the stranger in my control seat. She startles, and turns quickly, almost falling out of my chair in her weakened state.

“Nothing, just looking around. I wanted to know who rescued me. Thanks, by the way.”  
“Don’t mention it. But do tell how you got in here, that door locks automatically.”

“Oh, it was open when I got here.” She lies, but I don’t want to push now, on account of her being so pale and weak. So I tell her to come back to her room, and ask if she wants any food or drink. She doesn’t, but I get her a new glass of water and she drinks it quickly. When I get back from refilling it she’s passed out on the bed, so I leave the cup and go find Cas.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, that's the end of the Tumblr stuff, now it'll be just on here. The chapters should start to be longer, although as I don't really write in chapters, that won't really be a thing. I'll break it off where I feel works, but no one part is really separate from the others.

I meet her in the airlock, Argentus’s side, and ask “Find anything?” **  
**

“Nothing unusual, just what should be there about the experiments, and the logs and tests.”

“Our captain was in my control room, somehow she got through the locked door. She’s passed out in bed now, though. Any idea what her encryption for the main comp could be?”  
“I don’t actually know her that well. I’m more worried about where the rest of the crew is.”

I’d forgotten that a science ship needed scientists, having run my ship alone for so long. Now that Cas brought it up though, I realized she was right. The ship was empty, not even bodies.

“That’s curious, the captain might be feeling better now, and if she’s not we can wait a few hours, but we should figure out what happened here as soon as we can.”

While we’re eating dinner our mysterious guest appears in the doorway. She glances over at me, then gets food from the dispenser. Once she’s prepared a meal to her liking she sits across from me, and starts to explain.

“The Argentus, my ship, was out here on a science mission. We were trying to puzzle out something big. I can’t tell you now due to security and confidentiality, and I don’t know a whole lot myself. Thanks for saving me, by the way, I’m just sorry we couldn’t save the rest of the crew. The Orathian was supposed to bring fresh supplies and a crew shift for non-essential personnel. They didn’t, they just got close, then fired at us. We managed to emergency jump, but not before we had sustained almost critical damage. There were fires, a few people had already died, we all panicked for a while. That’s when the Orathian caught up. They didn’t fire on us again, just docked. We were helpless, and they knew it. A few men came on board, but I couldn’t tell who they were, with all of them wearing mech suits and full facial HUDs. Full military gear. I managed to hide in my ready room, I have a secret hatch for storage that I could just fit into. When I was sure they had all left, after what felt like hours, I crawled out. I was the only one left. I jumped back to the testing site, figuring if someone was looking they would start there. The asteroid was a projection, part of the secrecy measures we had to take. But no one came, and the Argentus had sustained too much damage, there was no power, so no air cleaning. I had given up, when you jumped in, so I used the last of the emergency power to tractor you over, then I woke up in your room, and here we are.

I don’t know where to go next. I don’t know who took over the Orathian. All I know is that I need to get my ship fixed, and then go back to the guy who chartered us.”

Throughout the captain’s speech Cas sat quietly. After the captain finished talking Cas had a few questions, “Who called us? We heard a voice over the intercom after we came into contact with your ship?”

“That was probably the ship’s auto reply, I set it to ask for assistance when I jumped into the system.”

“How is this asteroid being projected, and how long will it keep the Orathian from finding us?”  
“As to the first question, I have no idea. It was here when we started, and I was assured it will stay for the whole time. As to how long it will protect us, I don’t know either. If they start shooting randomly and we get hit, the asteroid won’t block it. But it does redirect pings, as I’m sure you found out.”  
At this point I jumped in, “Could we change the asteroid to ping directly back? Right now it just absorbs or sends the pings off somewhere, like it isn’t even here.”

“Like I said, I don’t even know how this thing works, much less how to change it. I’m sure we could find out, but I don’t want to mess with it when we’re just as likely to break it as make it better.”

Now I wanted to know how she got into my cockpit, so I asked.

“I told you, the door was open. I saw the control room so I went in to see what I could find out about the ship. I was only in there for a few minutes before you found me.”


	11. Chapter 11

The conversation dies out at that point, and we all finish eating and head off on our own path. I went to the control room, to see how the door was open. It hadn’t been forced, there was no sign of hacking in the terminal. I couldn’t find any explanation for how she had gotten into the cockpit, except that the door was already open when she got there, which was odd. Either that or she had an access key, but the only one was in a pouch, on my belt, safe from probing fingers. This line of inquiry was pointless, and clearly Vash'tee wasn’t going to tell me how she got in. She didn’t break anything in the room, or take any data, so far as I could tell she had only been in the room for a minute or two before I found her. She hadn’t even opened the main computer, just the travel logs and the crew and passenger manifest, which was empty save for me, I hadn’t even put Cas in yet. So I did, filling in what I could, namely, her name and general description. I pondered putting her in the cargo manifest as well, but didn’t want to go through the hassle of making another form, especially just to leave it mostly blank.

So, I went to bed. I’d been awake for a while, dealing with worms, and pirates, and now fake asteroids with busted ships inside of them, so I needed some beauty sleep. Not that the beauty part ever seems to work, but no harm in trying I suppose. 

**“Novus. Your time is near. Do not fail to arrive when we call.”**

“Who are you? Where am I? What do you mean my time?”

**“All will be answered in due time. We cannot explain now for want of time, and for want of answers ourselves. Just know, when we call you will come. You have no choice, not if you value the lives of everyone in your galaxy, everyone in every galaxy. You may call us Zedrieox.”**

“I’ll tell you right now girls, I’m still not sure who they really were. But I guess that’s the point of a pan-galactic super entity. Anyway, I woke up in a cold sweat.”

It was three a.m. standard time, but I wasn’t tired after my harrowing dream, so I decided to try and find out more about Vash'tee. A cursory search turned up nothing, but the pilot’s register looked promising. She was listed as a 2nd tier pilot, passed academy with good marks, and has plenty of time in multiple bridge positions. But about three months ago her record ends, abruptly. Like, weirdly abruptly, if she’d died it would have been less abrupt. It’s like she just stopped existing, wiped from the map. By the time I realized what all this meant, it was breakfast time. Luckily most captains keep a similar schedule, so I found Vash'tee in the mess.

“I might need to know a little more about the mission you were running, especially if we’re to get out of here and away from the  _ Orathian _ .”

“I’ve told you almost all I can, and I wasn’t privy to much, even though I was the captain. I was really just a chauffeur, someone to keep the engines warm and the lights on. The scientists told me next to nothing, and the guy who hired us told me even less. He just gave me these coords, and threatened me if I told them to anyone.”

Well, that was familiar sounding, “I guess we’ll have to figure it out on our own then.”

“What about the person with you, Cas? Doesn’t she know anything?”   
“She might, she hasn’t told me anything. Just did the same routine with the coords, then bunked in her room for a while.”

So, we went to find Cas. She was in the rec room, trying to figure out the caf machine.

“Does your ship have any working machines? None of these work.”

“Oh, you’ll need to switch your ship’s power frequencies around, it’s an effect of the asteroid projection. Messes with the computers.”

That was the moment I realized I forgot to get breakfast, so I went down to the engines and messed with the alternators until the frequency was right, then met Cas and Vash'tee in the mess.

“Time for eggs and explanations! Thank you for joining me here today, Cas you go first. What sort of arcane knowledge do you have for us?”

“I cannot tell you.”

“Cannot, or will not?” an interjection from Vash'tee, who seems to be as miffed as I am about the information void.

“I guess I won't, but it’s because if I did your lives would be very much in danger. And your brains might explode, it’s  _ very _ arcane. I’ve been training my whole life to be able to have this is in my head.”

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the Zedrieox would it?”   
“How do you know that name?” Cas looks more concerned than angry here, so I don’t get upset either.

“They talked to me last night, in a dream. It’s why I was up so early.”

“The Zedrieox are an ancient species, not from Bexxelnack, and not from our galaxy. Maybe not even from this plane of existence. You both are now among a very select few who know about them. It is not a list you should want to be on.”

“Well, that is some tantalizing information, but what does it have to do with Vash'tee’s adventures? And why did she vanish from all records a few months ago?”

Here Vash'tee speaks up, “What do you mean disappeared? I logged this mission very well, with multiple stations.”

“I checked the pilot registry this morning, and you just vanished off of it about three months ago. Very abruptly, not even an obituary.”   
“That is part of her patron’s plan,” Cas says “Nobody can know what’s going on out here, I may be able to tell you more, now that you know about the Zedrieox, but even then I can’t say much. It’s basically like this: the Zedrieox contacted my family about a century ago, they told them to prepare something. It very nearly drove them insane trying to comprehend the plans, so for centuries they refined themselves and their methods of teaching to try to get a glimmer of what these plans might mean. That’s when I came in, I was prepared from a very young age to be able to understand these plans. They’re almost insultingly simple, once you get past the alien-ness of them. They are preparing against a threat, one so big the Zedrieox themselves very nearly lost to it. I don’t know what it is, but I do know that we need to be very careful, and very prepared, when the threat gets here. The scientists here were working on the finishing touches, I think the  _ Orathian _ might be controlled by the forces of evil, working to destroy everything my family has worked on, and by extension, destroy our universe.”   
“Well.” Vash'tee says.

“Well indeed,” I return. “What can we do to prevent the total destruction of all we know and hold dear? I do hold a few things quite dear.”

“We’ve got to get the  _ Argentus _ running again. Along with all the science it was doing, it was specially designed to help against the threat. Specially designed to help the Zedrieox survive in our plane."

"Not sure that's viable. The fires, and the people setting them, were thorough. That, and the computer is almost useless."

Here Cas chimed in, "I can get the computers up, you just focus on repairs."

And that was that. We went our separate ways.


	12. Chapter 12

I took the hull repairs on EVA. As I was suiting up, Vash'tee joined me.

"Be careful, that projector has a lot of energy behind it. If you get to close it'll fry you and your suit."

"I'll keep that in mind. Any other threats to my personal safety? Besides the two crazy people I've got on my ship? And the shipful of crazy people hunting us?"

"No, not that I know of. I'm sorry you got dragged into this. I really thought it was just a routine, albeit paranoid, science mission."

"Don't worry too much about it. These things always seem to happen to me. Remind me and I'll tell you how I won this ship someday."

And with that, I was ready to cycle the airlock, which brought a convenient end to our conversation.

The hull didn't look good. These weren't space worms we were dealing with. These were professional pirates, mercenaries probably, who knew how to use a laser against a good pilot. It didn't help the pilot that she was only equipped with basic laz guns, against a fully armed ship. Most of the holes patched easily, or at least manageably. There were about a dozen that were too large for the patch kit, and of those, three that would need serious repairs. So, it was back to the ship for the welding gun and a few metal plates.

Those acquired, with only minimal grumbling at my suit and the airlock, I got back to work. All but the three larger holes were easily welded. It wouldn't hold up against a laser, but it should hold an atmosphere. The holes remaining still posed a problem however. One was in a cargo hold, so we just had to lock that door, one was the engine room, which could wait. The last was right over the main hallway, which was unfortunate, as that was the main hallway.

"Hey Vash'tee, you read me?"

"Sure Novus, what do you need?"

"You wouldn't happen to have a large scale hull repair kit on hand, would you?"

"Yea one sec… How big are we talking here?"

"About two meters across, roughly circular."

"I think I've got just the thing, where can I meet you?"

"Main hallway, can't miss it."

About a minute later I see another suited figure dragging a large metal plate down the hallway below me. The suit has a small patch, with what look like farm animals on it.

"Here you are, one large repair kit."

She passes up various tools, and then pushes the plate through the hole in the ceiling.

"Let me know if you need anything else, I'll be on the bridge."

The plate fits well, and the bolts and welding look secure, so I send a message to Vash'tee, Cas, and the  _ Argentus _ to keep the engine room and cargo bay two doors locked, on account of the unsettling holes in them. Affirmatives all around, so I head in for dinner.

Once again, it's just Vash'tee and I to start off with, and we both eat without much chatter, only remarking on the sorry state of her ship obliquely. Cas breaks the silence, but quickly settles in with her meal. We enjoy the quiet for a while, until an alarm goes off in both ships.

"That's the proximity alarm-" I start.

"My ship!" Vash'tee interrupts.

"How?" Cas finishes.

By this point Vash'tee is off, running to the docking node between our ships, and I'm off in the opposite direction towards the cockpit. Cas stays in the mess thinking.

I can't get visual lock in anything through the projector, and I'm not about to announce my presence with a wide beam sweep, so I content myself with keeping a tighter sphere around our ships to alert me if anything comes through the field. I shoot a message over to the  _ Argentus _ , making sure everything is on that end.

" _ Argentus, _ this is the  _ Bunglehopper, _ please respond."

"Novus! I can't get anything through this field. Especially without having the sensors fully up yet."

"I've got nothing on my end, I tightened the scanning zone to just inside the projection, but that's all I can do for now."

"It'll have to do, I'll be right back over. I'm going to check a few more things."

I find Cas still in the mess, finishing her meal.

"I think it was a micro-asteroid," she says between bites, "we are in an asteroid belt, after all."

"I'm not sure about that, it's a good point, but we can't take any chances with the  _ Orathian _ hanging around."

Vash'tee enters the mess at this point, and flops onto the bench across from me

"I knew this job would suck. I didn't even want to be out here, I could be in central Bexx, but no. I had to take this star damned job, can't even see Bexx from here. Nobody tells me anything, it's all: fly here, take me there, go over to this random asteroid in the middle of forge damned nowhere!"

This tirade went on for a while. I'll spare the details, and the rather strong language. Eventually, Vash'tee calmed down a bit, and we were able to have a coherent, two-way conversation.

"What are we going to do?" Was Vash'tee's start.

Cas had a reply ready, "we are going to fix the ship, and then we are going to help the Zedrieox."

"Well, the ship will hold air, so we don't need to worry about what power we have left running out over there," was my contribution, "all that's left is the computers."

"Those are very nearly online. I fear we have lost quite a few files, but hopefully nothing critical, or unreplaceable. You two focus on keeping both ships powered and ready to fly."

"It's tricky to fly a ship with no computers," Vash'tee said as she walked out of the mess.

That's when the alarms went off again. For the second time. After we shrunk the bubbles inside the asteroid.

"What in the great forge! Bexxelnack itself be damned, I am destroying that ship!"


	13. Chapter 13

"Cas," I said, "please keep Vash'tee from doing anything rash. I'm going to see what the ruckus is."

And I did, and it was a ship. A one man exploration vessel, kitted to stay out of dock for years at a time. From the looks of it, this one was almost at its end, with dents and scrapes from slightly-larger-than-micro meteoroids. I received a hail from it, through a heavy layer of static and interference.

"This is the exploration vessel _Gilgamesh_ , please don't shoot at me. I bear you no ill-will, and would appreciate a moment to talk to the leaders of your sundry debris."

The _Argentus_ sent over a private message, asking if we trusted this guy. I wasn't sure yet, but they found us, and at the least, we could try to fix that problem.

"This is the _Bunglehopper_ , do you need immediate assistance? Or can you do a bit more explaining from over there? You'll have to forgive our lack of trust, captain."

"Greetings _Bunglehopper_ , I will need assistance eventually, but it can wait for me to tell you what I know, and how I found you.

"My family is made up of explorers, I got this vessel the day I turned 18, all my sibs got one. I've been exploring this belt for decades, and noticed this new asteroid. These things don't just pop up, y'know? Except, I guess, they do. I know about the galactic threat. The Zedrieox tell my family a bit, and we know some just from being everywhere. As to whether you're safe, you have my word as a Frepnalanian. I do need a spot of assistance now, so if I could come over?"

I wasn't sure what to do next, I couldn't just leave him out there to float helplessly, especially not after he asked for help, but I still didn't really trust him.

" _Bunglehopper_ , I say we let him in," crackled over the speaker.

"Alright _Argentus_ , I'll let him know."

And I did, then met him at the airlock once he docked.

"Thanks for letting me in," said my newest guest. 

He looked refined and strong, with a short, wiry build. His dark skin contrasted his white hair, a unique look among generally pale astronauts.

"Interesting ship you got there, never seen a design like that," I said as we walked to the mess hall.

"Thanks, my family makes ships, and we get to help design them. My siblings that is, when we get our first ship. Mine has lasted the longest so far," he said with pride.

As we entered the dining room Cas stood up with confrontation written on her face.

"Who do you think you are, busting into our space? You could have let the _Orathian_ know we were here! You could have led them right to us!"

He didn't respond immediately, thinking about what Cas said.

"I only knew you were here because of the anomalous asteroid. There were no signals emitting, and mine just vanished when I sent them in. I've got a bit of familiarity with this kind of tech, so I figured I would check it out. I don't know what the _Orathian_ is, but there were no ships nearby when I entered the sphere."

Cas accepted this response, seemingly, and sat back down with a thump. Mr. Frepnalanian got food and joined us, sitting next to Cas and across from Vash'tee and me.

"So," I started, "what can we call you? Frepnalanian is a bit of a mouth full."

"I generally go by-"

"His name is Johann," Cas said, "and you shouldn't trust him."

"The mistakes of my uncle are not mine, we banished him long ago. Do not blame me for his shortcomings."

I could see the tension building, and so could Vash'tee, as she changed the subject.

"That's a most unusual ship, you said you designed it yourself?"

"I did, with the three tenements of exploration. Speed, sustainability, and, perhaps the most important, style.

"The speed and sustainability were easy, keep it light, and keep it small. As long as I've got radiation in my batteries the recyclers and the growers have power, just enough for one person breathing and eating. The style was where I spent my hours. I wanted a sort of tear-drop shape, with the engines at the point. The problem there, is it's a point. Not a lot of engine room. But I got around it by having side winglets with the engines. I think they look dashing. The curve of the front is also specially chosen, maximizing view port size, while minimizing solar wind resistance."

"Wow," Vash'tee said, "that's quite the design specs. What's the acceleration?"

"I can pull over 5 g's of acceleration, a full tank is worth over 200 kilometers delta V, not to mention the hyper-drive. I can go anywhere, do anything I want, and no government could stop me, even if they wanted."

"None of this matters!" Cas shouted. "He is still untrustworthy, and I, for one, don't want him on the ship."

"Cas," I said, "if he's willing to help, and willing to give up a bit of his solitary freedom, I'm glad for it. We need more than just two captains and a guest to pilot effectively, especially against the _Orathian_."

"Alright, but if he kills us all, I'm saying 'I told you so', and don't say I didn't warn you!"

That night, not there's really a difference between day and night this far out in space, I helped Johann get his ship into my hold. It fit nearly, right next to Cas's equipment, Vash'tee's stuff, and my junk. It was a tight squeeze. 

"So," I started, "what's your story? What did your uncle do that pissed Cas off so much? If you don't mind my asking, of course."

"Not at all, I come from a large family, splits happen. We all live in a largish asteroid, called Frepnalan. We've been there so long that's what everyone calls it, anyway. I think it's original designation was Asteroid 87-XC-F. Anyway, I have six brothers and four sisters, of which I am smack in the middle of. My whole extended family lives on Frepnalan, in-laws, out-laws, and some people who just grew into the family over time. Obviously, I couldn't find love there. So that's what we do, once we get old enough we go off into the universe. Most return, some don't, for various reasons. My uncle didn't. 

*He found out about Cas's family, and their esoteric connections. He didn't take kindly to their hiding it from the system, and threatened to expose them if he didn't get what he wanted. Most of my family was against him. Some, however, thought that he was right, everyone should know about the threat. Even if it kills them, even if it causes mass panic. They've been fighting over it for nearly a decade now, both sides too busy defending themselves to expose the other.

"Hey," he adds, "did you know you've got a SpaceRat on board?"


	14. Chapter 14

The Rat came out of its own accord, without hassle or ado. 

"My name," it started, in polished Standard, "is…" and then gave a few squeals and clicks. "Please call me Timoty."

"Why are you in my hold, Rat? And how long have you been here?"

At this point, Cas joined us.

"Timoty is with me. He's helping with the research, and I need his insights."

"Cas! I don't want a SpaceRat on my ship! They are the ultimate bad luck!"

"That's a fallacy, actually. Ships with us ‘rats’ on board tend to survive longer in space, especially in hostile locations."

The rat had a point, an article I was reading before the chaos cited several sources confirming that point, but I never was one to trust established media.

"How can I trust you?"

"If I wanted to break your ship I would have chewed through a few cables or something. It's not a very well designed craft. Unlike this little guy here," he motioned to Johann's ship, "which is a well made ship."

“That doesn’t answer my question. How can I trust you, not just to destroy my ship, but to help when I need it? What have you been doing this whole time, anyway?”

“Sorting out your storeroom here, it’s a mess, you know.”   
“I had it sort of the way I liked it,” I said. “What have you been eating, where have you been sleeping? Where are you stowing away?”   
“In a little corner, over there. I’ve brought ample provisions, and now I suppose I’ll eat from your food machine. Don’t worry about a mess, I’m quite clean, and my pack here serves as a bed.”

“Alright, well, you can share a room with Cas, I guess. Unless you want to stay here, that is.”

The rat elected to move in with Cas, and hauled his pack to her room. The pack was almost as big as he was, and had about seventy pockets of various sizes and shapes. 

After the excitement of two new passengers wore off I was able to think again about Vash'tee’s ship. The  _ Argentus _ wasn’t in good shape yet, despite being mostly patched up, and with a working -- barely working -- computer. She wouldn’t be going anywhere fast, or anywhere far, for a long time. Chances are, I would need to give her a tow anyway. So we had two ships, mine and Johann’s, three captains, and two passengers, one of which was a SpaceRat. I guess I wouldn’t need the nav computer after all. All that’s left is to figure out who is in the  _ Orathian _ , who the Zedrieox are, what the threat is, and how I’m going to get home without going crazy or ending up dead.

That night I did not sleep well. Another dream of existential horrors and the Zedrieox. They wanted me to find the _Orathian_ and stop them from stopping us. They did not tell me where the _Orathian_ was, what they were doing, or what sort of power they had. Classically enigmatic, these beings.

“Alright everyone. We’ve got a mission from the Zedrieox,” Cas said.

The mess hall went quiet, the four of us stopped eating to listen.

“They want you all to take the  _ Bunglehopper _ and find the  _ Orathian _ . Timoty and I will stay here, on the  _ Argentus _ , and keep trying to revive the computers, or failing that, repeat the experiments to the best of our abilities.”

“Like Forge you’ll stay on my ship without me!” Vash'tee said. “Whatever these voices in your head said, I’m still the captain over there, and I won’t have you two messing with my ship.”

“Vash'tee,” I said, “I was told to go after them too. I’d like a co-pilot who knows how to fly something larger than an escape pod.”

“We won’t be using anything other than the science equipment and a few of the computer systems. No piloting will be taking place, even if your ship could fly. Timoty and I won’t even need to go into the cockpit, ideally.”

“Wait. I can fly something larger than an escape pod. I used to fly the cargo haulers for my brother’s company!” Johann said, ignoring the conversation actually going on.

“Johann, you need to stay with us,” Cas told him. “We could need a pilot, and your family has resources we could need. You’ll need to be here to direct them.”   
Johann didn’t look too happy about that, but acquiesced. Vash'tee still wasn’t happy with the situation, but she, too, gave in. 

“So that will be three of you, on my ship, while Novus and I go out and look for what? A pangalactic super entity? Shouldn’t they be coming to us? Seems a bit tricky to find something like that.”

“Luckily, Vash'tee, we will be looking for something far easier to find: a single spaceship, somewhere in the vast, empty expanses of space. Could be anywhere within or out of the system now.”

The next morning we all got ready to split up. Vash'tee spent a few hours lecturing Johann on her ship, explaining every detail of how the ship ran, how the left fore maneuvering thruster was a bit slow, how gentle (but firm) you had to be with starting the engines, and exactly how to stop the ship, should he run into a planet. This was totally reasonable, her leaving her ship for who knows how long. Once she was ready, and satisfied with Johann’s proficiency, she joined me in the cockpit of my ship. I had locked the door, but it opened for her. I decided now was a good time to talk about that.

“The door was locked.”   
“Was it? It just opened up.”   
“I locked it. How did you get in? Did you copy my key?”   
“I did no such thing! I would never, not to a fellow captain, not to anyone!”   
“Then how did the door open?”

**“I opened it for her”**

“Wha- who-”   
**“I am the Zedrie assigned to your protection. I gave her access to your ship once you found her. I am sorry I did not introduce myself to you sooner”** **  
** “Where are you?” Vash’tee asked.

**“I am a non-corporeal being. To make a long explanation a short one, I am in the energy flowing through this room, this ship, and this universe. I can choose to manifest wherever I please.”**

“Do you know where the  _ Orathian _ is?”   
**“I am not omnipotent, nor all knowing. I have no physical form, but I do have spatial limits. My energy can only extend so far. I am a large Zedrie, but I am still only the size of a large asteroid. Not much larger than Frepnalan. I can make your search easier, but not by much. I can only be in this plane for a limited time, as well. Your sensors have a longer range than I do, but I can search the area I am in perfectly as long as there is energy there, and I have only heard of energy-less places in rumor.”**

“That’s reassuring. Good to meet you, uh-” I said.

**“I have no name, you may call me Zed, I suppose.”**

“Great,” Vash’tee said, “Let’s get going then.”

And we did, off to find a ship in a void.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a new sort of thing, a new perspective! It isn't very long, but I don't think it needs to be. This is likely the part that will get the most changing, if I ever get the energy to seriously edit this stuff. Enjoy!

_ Log Book Entry: Day One _

The experiments are getting set up smoothly. Johann is far too curious about things he need not know, but Timoty is a genius with the kits we have left. I am grateful to the SpaceRats for assigning him here. We did not get any actual tests done today, and probably will not for at least a week while we set up the lab. The damn  _ Orathian _ did so much damage to this poor ship, and almost completely totaled the lab. Hopefully we will not be missing anything irreplaceable or unfixable. I will have to rely on Timoty’s ingenuity for the time being.

_ Log Book Entry: Day Seven _

We have fixed everything we could. There are so many things missing, so many things gone. I am tempted to send Johann out to gather the materials we are missing, but I still do not fully trust him. The preliminary tests are all promising, and I can only hope they continue to provide results. We have no Zedrie oversight, so I can only do what I know, what I was trained for. We are approaching the theoretical limits of the universe, and must push through. If at any point this log is found, please convey my sincerest apologies to Vash’tee for destroying the  _ Argentus _ . 

_ Log Book Entry: Day Nine _

Yesterday we almost did it! We almost punched through the surface of our galaxy! I looked into an alternate dimension for a moment. It was magical, mystical, totally alien. I wonder which is the more accurate? Who is more alien to whom? Today was less exciting, but far more promising for the future. We were finally able to reach the energy below the galaxy, in between the layers of the multiverse. That is the barrier the Zedrieox use to travel in, flowing through all the veins of creation. Only time will tell how we can use this, to save ourselves and to grasp the future.

_ Log Book Entry: Day Ten _

We were able to do it. We found a way to open the tear between dimensions and hold it open. There is an awe inspiring amount of energy in there, enough to keep infinite civilizations powered for eternity, it seems. I was able to contact the Zedrieox, they are pleased with our progress, and sent plans for the next steps. They are more alien to me than anything else they have sent. It will be a challenge even to read the plans.

_ Log Book Entry: Day Fifteen _

This is hell. Deep in the fiery furnaces of Forge hell. The power to be tapped is immense, and incredibly sensitive. Even the slightest waver will send it back, scurrying like a cowardly space mouse under the foot of a storming BungleHopper, despite its terrible, awesome strength. It is immensely frustrating working like this, even my hands are not sensitive enough. Timoty is working on a solution, but I need something now. We, the universe, cannot afford more delays. Even in a realm where time is meaningless there is urgency. I only hope I can match the need. I must be better.

_ Log Book Entry: Day Twenty-Four _

We have made little progress. Tomorrow we are going to try something new. It is dangerous. Timoty and Johann will take the  _ Gilgamesh _ out of range, should something go wrong.


	16. Chapter 16

The search did not start well. We traveled towards the center, stopping and asking if anyone had seen the  _ Orathian _ , or a ship like it. No one had. No one had even seen a ship of the same style. Until we were approached by a stranger, perhaps a week in, wringing his hands and wearing a large hooded cloak.

“I hear you are looking for a ship. The  _ Orathian _ , perhaps. I may know a thing or two about it. For a price, of course.”

Vash’tee was suspicious, I was curious.

“I don’t think we should trust him,” She said as she pulled me off to the side.

“I don’t think we have a choice. We’ve been totally at a loss until now.”

“Mighty convenient, don’t you think? That he would show up now?”   
“He had to show up sometime. We need a lead, anything, and he could have it.”   
“Don’t make me say I told you so. I hate doing that.”

“Alright,” I said to the stranger, “What’ve you got for us.”   
“Not here. Follow me.”   
She led us to a dingy bar, off in the corner of the station, nestled between the unloading bays and the workers barracks. The bar was small, with only a few stools, and a couple small booths off to the side. We went to the corner, the stranger’s back to the wall, and sat down. The creak of fake leather and the smell of spilled booze reminded me of simpler times, before I met Cas. Bit boring, back then.

“I will need you to do something for this information. Tommy, the mayor, is a prick, totally corrupt. Get me evidence of his corruption and I’ll tell you how to find the  _ Orathian _ .”   
**“Look in the stool two from the left. You will find receipts proving his corruption.”**

“What the Forge is that? Actually, nevermind.”   
She got up and checked the stool, coming back with a sheaf of papers.

“I’m not sure how you did that. I’m not sure I care. The  _ Orathian _ goes by the  _ Loteori _ these days. It’s been repainted to look like an Anti-SpaceRat ship. Good luck.”

We took our leave, asking around with the new intel in mind. We got a lead almost immediately, and were off.

We caught up to the _Loteori_ after a week chasing it around. It was painted how we were told, a problem due to the popularity of the Space Mice, and their hatred of the SpaceRats. There’s enough there for a whole other story, I won’t get into it now. Now, all we needed was a plan.

“Zed, you there? I have a question about our future. Immediate future, I mean. Why are we chasing this ship? What do they have that we need?”   
**“They have the materials, the logs, and the equipment they stole from the** **_Argentus_ ** **. It would be of great use to Cas, and also cannot get out to the greater populace. It is incredibly dangerous, to you and to us. You will need to capture the ship, download the logs, and take the supplies back. I can hold the crew for a small time.”**

“Thanks. Good to know it’ll be that simple. Just board a ship, raid it, and survive.”

**“Precisely. I am glad you understand.”**

I brought the  _ Bunglehopper _ near the  _ Loteori _ , just out of sight around an asteroid. Vash and I had thought carefully about what we were going to do when we got close enough. She was lithe enough to sneak close to the ship, small enough not to get noticed by the sensors, especially in our newly-modded suit, with absorption panels for the radar and other more advanced scanners. Her job was to grab the supplies, download the science, and get back to safety. I was going to distract the ship, shooting at them and causing a bit of damage for Vash to enter through, while keeping the crew off her. After she was out I would pick her up off a nearby asteroid, and we would get back to the others. 

The plan started off well, with Vash able to get close to the ship, and I was able to blast a hole in the side. After that, things got a little less easy. I had underestimated how quick they would react, they were able to turn around and fire back almost immediately, nearly hitting me in the process. After some fancy flying, and quite a few near misses and a quite a few more glancing hits, they scored a hit that would be harder to fly away from, the coolant tank. The same one they hit before. I wouldn’t be able to jump far, if at all with all the flying I had already done to heat the engines. That wouldn’t matter much if Vash couldn’t get the tech, however.

**“She’s done it. Get away now.”** **  
** “Love to Zed, but it’s a bit difficult to fly just now. Anything you can do to help?

**“They have the ship sealed to my energies, not energy-less, just too chaotic for me to enter. Vash’tee was only able to contact me after she left the ship. She is at the meeting spot now.”**

“Great. I’ll meet her there once I stop getting chased by these hooligans.”

As if on cue, the _Loteori_ turned away, heading straight towards the asteroid Vash was hiding on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a bit more written, as of mid-december 2020. I'm on break, so I may actually have time to write more... I hope... Anyway, sorry about the cliffhanger (not (: heehee) but more will hopefully be coming soon.


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